The Montel Williams Show
| The Montel Williams Show | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Montel Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 17 |
| No. of episodes | 4,325 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Montel Williams |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera setup |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Mountain Movers Productions (1991-2008) (seasons 1-17) Letnom Productions (1996–1998) (seasons 6-7) Out of My Way Productions (1994-1998) (seasons 4-7) |
| Distributor |
Viacom Enterprises (1991–1994) (seasons 1-3) Paramount Domestic Television (1994–2006) (seasons 4-15) CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006–2007) (seasons 15-17) CBS Television Distribution (2007–2008) (season 17) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication |
| Original release | September 30, 1991 – May 16, 2008 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Montel Williams Show (also known as Montel) is a syndicated talk show, hosted by Montel Williams, which ran from 1991 to 2008.
On January 30, 2008, it was announced that The Montel Williams Show would stop production on new episodes at the end of the 2007–2008 television season after seventeen years. A rerun package offered by Montel's distributor, CBS Television Distribution, was sold into syndication for the 2008–2009 season, and reruns also aired on Black Entertainment Television (BET).
In its early years, Montel was similar to most tabloid talk shows. As time went on, however, the genre became less popular, and so toward the end of the show's run, Montel usually focused on inspirational stories and less controversial subjects. Common themes seen on Montel include finding lost loves, reuniting mothers who gave their children up for adoption, or stories of strong women who faced certain danger (such as rape or attempted murder) and fought their way out.Multiple sclerosis was also a frequent topic, as Williams suffers from the disease.
Most Wednesdays (and sometimes on Fridays as well during the summer), self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne was Montel's guest, and performed psychic readings of guests as well as discussing her ideas about spirituality and the afterlife. Her predictions have been the target for much criticism, and her psychic abilities explained as cold reading by critics such as Robert S. Lancaster. She refused to partake in the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge from James Randi, a prominent skeptic.
In August 2007, The Montel Williams Show was awarded The Truly Terrible Television (TTTV) Award for peddling pseudoscience and superstition to its audience for every episode that has showcased Sylvia Browne. Other winners have been Psychic Detectives, A&E's Paranormal State and SciFi's Ghost Hunters.
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